Using Loans to Pay for Your Student Tuition and Other Fees: Study in Greece

How You Can Finance a College Degree

Want to know exactly how your student loans affect your bottom line tax return, or how you can gain quick access to emergency financial aid?

We’ve organized this section on topics quite vitally attached to student loans.

You make better student loan choices when you are fully informed.

How to Apply for a Loan

Believe it or not, plenty of people have little knowledge of how to apply for student loans. We walk you through a step-by-step process that breaks down the various types of loans—federal, alternative, consolidation—how you approach the process, and what personal and financial information you’ll need to get the job done.

But first things first: Apply with the FAFSA.

Almost every single student should be filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. This is the key that gains you access to federal student loans, including the Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, and PLUS Loans. But most borrowers also fail to realize just how many other aid programs also require you file a FAFSA. What this means: if you fail to file a FAFSA, you summarily cut yourself out of almost every form of student aid.

Let’s Talk Debt

The average student debt load, for a typical undergraduate student, is estimated at about $20,000. Of course there are borrowers that lie to either side of this figure, some with gruesomely high dollar debt—all of which must be repaid. Did you realize that personal bankruptcy does not eliminate your student loan debt? So declaring yourself legally broke is not a viable last-ditch plan; the strategy won’t erase your student loan responsibilities.

While you are shopping for the best deals in student loans, put this concept in the back of your mind: consolidation loans have become critical components in the student loan scheme. They are available in Federal consolidation and private consolidation versions and are a must for any borrower who is the least bit overburdened with student loan repayment. Before you default, consolidate. Once you’ve defaulted on a loan it is almost too late to consolidate, so think ahead.

How to Leverage Your Student Loans for Tax Breaks

If anything good could come from the high cost of borrowing student loans let it be a break on your federal income tax. Here is a brief guide to the various types of deductible student loan interest and how to leverage these figures to save money come tax time.

Of course, it helps to understand how the interest rate applied to your student loan ultimately affects your loans and your final payoff.

Saving Your College Education in an Emergency

Would you know how to immediately access money for school if you needed it in an emergency? Maybe you’ve never thought your college dollars could be jeopardized. But what if your flow of college financing suddenly stopped? In a dire situation, limited but critical student loan money could be accessed.

Emergency financial aid programs are not widely advertised; you really have to want this money. But we have prepared a brief guide that delivers the information you need if you ever find yourself in a financial emergency. No matter what, school should be a priority.